Those with three dd-how do you do bedtime on your own?

[Familydilemma]

Dh usually here, but has a run of late nights with work. I'm brain addled and a bit sleep deprived, especially as dd2 has hit 4 months and gone back to waking a lot at night. Can't get my head round successfully and efficiently dispatching them all to bed. Dd1 is 6, ds is 3.

I have 3 children a bit older than yours.....have you tried story tapes? also I used to bathe the 3 of them together (baby had a v quick swish through the water) and I would change/feed baby in the bathroom and chat to the other 2. If baby wasn't fully settled when they were ready to come out of bath, she would either have to cry for a little while, or I'd stick a story tape on for the other 2.
Its a huge juggling act but gets easier. you have my full sympathies!

I have dd1 (6), dd2 (4) and dd3 (8 months) and a husband who works a lot of nights. DD1 and 2 share a room, so at 7pm, they both go upstairs to play for a bit. I give dd3 a bottle, she falls asleep, I put her to bed, then tuck dd1 and dd2 in at around 7.45pm. This is how it works 90% of the time .

We sort of fell into this routine, it wasn't planned. Sympathies on the lack of the sleep, dd3 still wakes up for a feed at night.

i've got 3 but mine are 10, 3, and 1 so the eldest is probably a bit more self sufficient than your 6 yr old... although i do have to manage the fact of helping him with his homework while the small ones are in the bath.

dc2 and 3 have always had a bath together. then smallest one out first, dried and changed in bathroom while middle one stays in bath. then middle one out. story for both of them sitting on middle one's bed.

tuck middle one in, give him milk, take little one to bed with her milk, then back to middle one to 'talk about the day' before bed.

What bluerodeo said. It does get better

Big confession-dd2 barely ever has a bath . She hasn't liked it so far and is clean and sweet smelling. Can't tell my mother though...really helpful hints. Sounds roughly like what I try to do. Is it all very smooth? Mine usually involves threats...

DD1 just turned 8, DS1 is 4 and DD2 is 6 months. I am on my own most evenings and find after school extremely stressful getting reading, homework, music practice and dinner done... however it has been done (somehow...!)

By 6.45pm we aim to have finished all that and be sitting down while I feed Dc3. Dc1 and 2 have a milky drink and watch television for a bit. I put DC3 to bed at 7pm, which only takes a few minutes as she's pretty tired by then and falls straight to sleep (thank goodness). I then go down and get Dc2. I read to him in bed and then he goes off to sleep with no problems by 7.30. Dc3 stays up to watch television on her own (or do whatever she wants to do) until 7.50. I spend this time tidying up and then I go up with her and read a bit of her book to her. She has been allowed to have the later bedtime since going in to Yr3 and it is working well so far.

I have to admit that bath time only happens a few times a week due to all the things I have to get done before bed... DC3 hasn't had many baths in her short life (even though she does enjoy them), but was today treated to a daytime bath - they all smell lovely btw!

Argh. I only have 2 dc and am struggling. Writing this while feeding baby with DD asleep in the bed next to me because she refused to sleep in her bed (ne'er happened before) and I simply didn't have the time to fight her/stay with her (what she wanted).

i used to start at 6.30 with the baby in the bath. baby out of the bath and being dried on a mat on the floor of the bathroom and the next two in the bath together (2 years between eldest, 18 mos between 2&3).

baby dry and dressed and put into bouncy chair in bathroom. jiggled occasionally/ cloth books, toys as got a bit older. toddler out and dried/ dressed in bathroom. pre-schooler/ oldest toddler out - everyone into living room or bedroom (with bouncy chair) and dry/ dress oldest in there (whilst trying to persuade toddler not to eat the dog/ baby. usually sent toddler for story book.

get milk x 3.

feed baby and read story whilst others drinking milk and listening to story.

back to bathroom, teeth (taking bouncy chair to perch baby in).

toddler and pre-schooler in bed. kiss night night.

baby to bed. (nb this is left until last as it could take anywhere from 1 minute to um, 300.)

i have to say, now that they are 11,9 and 8, they pretty much do it all themselves. the girls love to spend hours in the bath (still together) and make a real meal out of washing their hair etc. and ds1 would stay in the bath all night if i let him. they still have 'milk', then 'teeth' as the signal that the day is at an end though.

i think whatever your routine, the key is sticking to it. when mine were tots they would gleefully remind grandma 'no, grandma, now we have our milk' when she got over-excited and proferred a toothbrush. she always used to say we didn't need to tell her the routine as the kids would tell her if she got it 'wrong'...

Oh my god and now dd2 has vomitted all over the bed, so mow I have one child asleep in the wrong bed that needs stripping, and one child wide awake. DP home at 9 am tomorrow.

Time for wine methinks...

Or chocolate! Luckily supplies high after Halloween

Mine are 5, 2 and 7mo. At 6:45 I settle the 2 and 5 year olds down for a bit of tele, I bring DD3 up, change and give her bottle and put her down, I keep the door open so I can hear them but they never stir. Then I'm back down for the at 7pm and put them to bed, it helps that my 7mo goes down very easy but this is what works for me.

Bit of a long time ago but I had 3 under five and DH who was never home for bedtime during the week.
I put the 2 eldest in the bath and dunked baby in one end then dressed him whilst the other two played in the bath.
Baby on changing mat or bouncy chair on landing whilst I got the other two out in strict order of age and got them ready for bed.
Stories done whilst breast-feeding baby